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New Military Characters

Thanks for your interest in the Amber Military. We hope we can help you to make a character that is interesting to play, engaged in the group and the game as a whole, and above all else, makes people go 'Awesome!'.

What to Think About First

The first thing you should do is look over the information we have on this site, and The Parent Site. The military machine is not developed in the novels, and much of what is here has been developed in play. Hence, if you have ideas, we would love to hear them. However, most of what is on this site has happened, or been discussed, ICly, so please bear that in mind. There is always a chance of change, but we cannot guarantee it. What we can guarantee is that we are open to discussion1.

Two-Way Contract

When you make a character with 'fighter' as part of the description, you are agreeing, in some form, to take part in fighting RP. Please read this page for some concept of how styles differ, and bear in mind that for scenes with many PCs, fighting tends to be detail-heavy. You're going to have to take part in fighting RP. If that does not suit you, there are still plenty of hooks in the Army and Navy that will.

Concepts

In terms of character concepts, there is a reasonable range available. Naval information is under casting calls, but for the Army and for general consideration, the primary avenues to explore are:

Regimental Heads: This will generally involve a Propco role, and you should take note of the information here. Many of the larger units have organisers already, but all of them would be happy to have new PCs in some role - maybe even at the top.

Soldiers/Officers: It is undoubtedly easier to play an officer or a senior NCO than a grunt. If you do want to play someone with Non-Commissioned or Other Ranks status, it is possible. Please define an Officer Prop in conjunction with Benedict or the Staff, or the PC who will be responsible for giving you autonomy.

Diplomatic Corps: Benedict and his army can make one hell of a mess of a situation, and sometimes people need to be sent in to deal with that. On an individual basis, or negotiating with other armed forces or even with whole nations, there is a call for Diplomacy. A D.O. need not be involved in this, and support roles are just as vital, but there is a propco angle here as well.

Special Forces: Design your own, and ask Benedict or Staff about whether they will fit.

Non-Action Roles: Orderlies, Bat-men, certain members of HQ Staff, are not expected to risk their own lives on the field. If you want to be in with the Military Crowd, but do not want to get involved in the bloody bits, consider one of these roles.

Ex-Soldiers: A hook for backstory in the Army will always be available for those who wish to play someone who left or was turned out of the forces.

Concepts to Avoid

There are a few concepts, however, that will not work well and we ask that they be avoided if possible, to avoid disappointment:

Automatically-Talented Children of Benedict: Benedict is not in the habit of bringing up children to make war - his passion is military theory, but this has been developed over thousands of years. If you do wish to be a child of a feature and in the army, you are welcome, but you do not get a bonus to it for being Ben's. Recent play has shown he has a son in the Army, and he is very affected by the knowledge; the inference is such things are rare.

Killing Machines: All characters need to have something to do on their days off. Someone whose entire life is the army will rapidly find themselves running out of reasons to RP.

Lone Wolves: See the note under 'killing machines'. We want good strong characters with hooks into other people.

Once you have a concept in mind, you may wish to contact Benedict, or any other member of the military organization (channel =War, in game) to discuss your concept. They may be willing to provide hooks to tie your story into theirs, or point you in the direction of someone who will. If there's no one who has a background you can tie into, Benedict and the GM Staff can help you with developing your own background to tie into Amber overall.

And Then?

Once you have a good idea of character and background, you can go through normal chargen. We wish you the best of luck.